Nationally, the ranks of “long-term unemployed” people — jobless for more than six months — stands at 3.7 million, up from 1.1 million in 2006.

The legislation being considered in Connecticut would take modest steps toward addressing the problem: simply banning employers from saying in a job ad that the unemployed are not eligible for consideration.

It’s mind-boggling that a company would put that in a job ad in the first place but, apparently, it happens. And 12 other states are considering similar legislation, according to The Associated Press.

Advertisement

The Connecticut Business and Industry Association supports banning such language in job ads, but opposes a provision in the bill that would allow applicants to sue if they suspect discrimination based on their joblessness. We agree that the bar for proving this kind of discrimination should be high and that the wording of the bill should be tweaked accordingly.

But in addressing the issue of long-term unemployment, we need to address the elephant in the room. Many in this situation are over the age of 50, but far too young to retire — mentally, physically and financially.

They can’t find work because employers have preconceived ideas about their ideal candidate — someone who can be “molded” versus what they perceive as an older worker set in their ways, someone who is a “digital native,” someone who is on the upward swing of a career trajectory instead of “on the way down.”

The Associated Press recently cited the case of Novlette Williams, a West Hartford woman who was laid off from an insurance industry position five years ago and hasn’t been able to find a full-time job. She’s 60.

“The barriers I face are hard to prove, but they are unmistakable,” she said in testimony to legislators, arguing that age discrimination is affecting the long-term unemployed.

It is, indeed, hard to prove that your age is the only factor keeping you from a job when you are competing against dozens of other applicants. But we can’t, as a society, throw away a generation of skilled, able-bodied workers who are still trying to support families, put kids through college and extend their careers.

It might be incentives for employers who hire older workers or the long-term unemployed. It might be a massive education campaign or retraining program. Or even a WPA-style government jobs program that puts older workers on the job of rebuilding our public infrastructure or supporting our schools. But something extraordinary needs to be done to confront one of the most disturbing trends to emerge from our modern recession.